"Most mysterious song on the internet" identified after 17 years

For nan past 17 years, a worldwide service of online sleuths obsessively tried to fig retired nan title of what has been dubbed "the astir mysterious opus connected nan internet." 

Now, they person nan reply aft a chance find by 1 intrepid interrogator who triumphantly reported his breakthrough connected online forum Reddit: it is called "Subways of Your Mind" and was recorded by a little-known 1980s German set called FEX.

The erstwhile set members are "absolutely overwhelmed" by nan news, 68-year-old Michael Haedrich, who played keyboard and guitar and sang back-up vocals for FEX, told Der Spiegel magazine.

The set had been oblivious to nan online phenomenon, he admitted.

How nan enigma unfolded

The enigma began successful 2007, erstwhile a German relative and sister uploaded a way online that they had digitized aft primitively signaling it arsenic teenagers connected a cassette from nan radio. As Rolling Stone reported successful 2019, nan portion mostly featured songs from celebrated bands for illustration XTC and The Cure, arsenic good arsenic 1 peculiar opus that remained a enigma — until now.

The German siblings asked for thief to place it and audiophiles soon took up nan challenge.

The way did not show up successful immoderate euphony databases, but online sleuths tried to activity retired what instruments could beryllium heard and analyzed nan lead singer's accent.

Initial attempts to place nan song, soon classified by galore arsenic being successful nan 1980s' "New Wave" genre, yielded little.

It was only erstwhile nan way was uploaded onto Reddit successful 2019 that world liking exploded.

A Reddit subforum called "r/TheMysteriousSong" attracted tens of thousands of members, and nan hunt was reported connected successful German media and beyond.

The large breakthrough yet came earlier this week erstwhile a personification called "marijn1412" said he had identified nan opus arsenic "Subways of Your Mind."

He said he came crossed erstwhile FEX members while researching an arena for up-and-coming bands that had been organized successful nan 1980s by a nationalist broadcaster successful bluish Germany.

The Reddit personification wrote that he had reached retired to members of what was a four-piece outfit from nan bluish metropolis of Kiel, who sent him a type of nan enigma song, and revealed its long-sought-after name.

Marijn1412 wrote: "After I emailed him backmost that nan opus is really rather a celebrated 'lost song,' he asked maine not to spell nationalist pinch it until he said pinch his aged set members. In nan meantime, though, nan opus did get registered astatine [the German capacity authorities organization] GEMA and group recovered retired astir it. But I'm happy to opportunity that nan set members agreed for maine to spell nationalist pinch it."

Haedrich, who is still a musician, told Spiegel that it was nan first clip he had heard astir nan monolithic hunt effort.

"I thought it was astonishing that personification was willing successful euphony by a set that was only successful regionally, if astatine all, and that was complete 40 years ago," he said.

Haedrich, who lives successful Munich, said nan set members now want to reissue "Subways of Your Mind" and are trying to way down nan original signaling of nan song.

Their occurrence whitethorn person been decades successful nan making, but he said "for us, it has conscionable travel suddenly."

In:
• Music
• Germany